Taste/Mouthfeel: roasted malt off the top followed by some dark unsweetned chocolate and chalky hints of cocoa. the mouthfeel is creamy and a little bit light. very nice staying power. lots of chocolate bitterness on the finish.

drinkability: light bodied for a stout but tasty! while not my favorite oatmeal stout, this is a high quality beer.

Nearly pitch black, but red highlights show through even at the middle of my pint. Khaki one-finger head initially, reduced to a ring around the edge.

Burnt toast, charcoal fill the nose. Smells good but isn't too copmlex. A bit of toffee shows through with some searching.

Lots of char and dark toasted notes in the flavor, again a bit sone sided. Sweetness typical of a sweet stout finishes it up. I'd just like to a see a bit more in this than just heavily roasted malts.

Mouthfeel is thin for an oatmeal based stout. Coats the mouth well enough, but lacks that chewiness I was looking for.

Overall good drinkability, but could use some complexity to kick it up a notch. This is still worht a shot if you like black patent dominated stouts. Would also pair well with a ribeye cooked over the coals.

Taste, a solid smooth OS. Standard choco coffee flavor rounded off by the oats, lacks bitterness, this is what an OS is supposed to do. Hardly original, but why fix something that ain't broke? Thins out down the bottle, minimal hop presence.

Plenty black, just some trace of light passes through at the bottom. Good initial head of dark tan color, but its down to a collar in 50 seconds. Fat rings for laces. Aroma shows nice roastiness, almost Dry Stout-like in coffee, combined with a touch of huckleberry. Low carbonation, very smooth oatmeal mouthfeel, nice. Java impressions early with a condensed milk sweetness sticking around throughout. Almost smokey at the close. Nice balance and a very drinkable beer. Minnesota is low on Stouts, its nice to see this one on the shelves, I'd pick this up again for sure.

Appears a dark pitch black color with light frothing tan head forming thick. Head was speckled thin after each sip, aroma has smoked dark chocolate notes with hints of soft oatmeal. Flavor has a creamy base malt layer, with hints of watered down dark chocolate and coffee flavors. No bad tasting beers here this is a nice dark stout, maybe a bit watered down but excellent stuff. Mouthfeel like I said a bit thin but some decen flavor to make up for it. Overall I'm not planning to pick up another bottle or six pack anytime soon, this stuff is pseudocraft beer compared to some other beers out there.

Ink black with just the tiniest hints of ruby when held again a halogen light. Attractive brown head that fades out too fast.
Roasted java notes on the nose. Minor chocolate notes. Not alot, but very pleasant.
Heavy on the coffee notes and somewhat less oaty sweetness, though still pronounced. Hints of chocolate covered nuts. Greasy and likeable, without having the complexities of a typical oatmeal stout. Smoky bar room type flavors.
Thin body hinders this one. Could be classic with some more bulk.
Easy drinking, no problems brew. But lacks memorability.

Most decent stout and oatmeal stout. Surprisingly mellow smooth. Chocolate nutty mocha carmel syrup,roast barley and sweet oats. Nice mahogony deep brown and toasted head that stays around. Long satisfying finish. Could hand out a few of these. Merci feloniousmonk for the sample.

The cool bottle (different than the one pictured here) depicts an old civil war type bearded dude who looks like he takes beer very seriously. The label says "big, black, and bold," and I agree.

Licorice black with hints of brown around the edges where the light can get through. A very thin brown head lasts a minute or two and leaves a bubbly collar and some brown lacing on the glass.

Smells smooth and rich like hot oatmeal or Malt-O-Meal (remember that stuff....I was raised on Malt-O-Meal and Cream of Wheat!) Also nutty black bread, double chocolate chip cookies, and peanut butter. Sweet, warm, smooth, and inviting but it could be a tad more pungent.

Nice sweet initial flavor followed by notes of chocolate, oatmeal (again....Malt-O-Meal), bitter coffee with loads of sugar or splenda. Just roasty and bitter enough IMO while retaining a balanced sweetness throughout.

This is one of the smoothest oatmeals I've had, and it seems almost perfectly balanced. This is smooth, creamy, and somewhat light-bodied in mouthfeel, my only compaint is that it is a bit watery.

This is one of few oatmeals that I would love to session. An excellent brew!

Pours a tepid black with a little runt-of-the-litter tan head that fades quickly. Nose is strong with burnt coffee, bittersweet chocolate, and toasted grain. Taste starts off with a hearty day-old coffee grounds bite with accents of milk chocolate and a rather potent prune aftertaste. Mouthfeel is deceptively substantial and stomach-filling. Not a bad stout, but not particularly exciting either. A decent session stout perhaps if you like the strong coffee thing.

There's a smokiness to Gray's Oatmeal Stout that's noticeable right up front. It's not burnt wood smokey, but more like the smoke that starts to come off of something just before it ignites. It's clear in the nose along with deeply caramelized sugars and some mildly chocolate malt.

It returns again in the finish once it's roasty, deeply caramelized and burnt sugar maltiness has passed; but before that some delicate bakers chocolate and espresso notes appear.

There aren't many hops here, they just peek out towards the finish, leafy and grassy, but they're not really needed except for their subtle balancing bitterness (not much is needed as the roast, smokiness, and low pH of the beer already cut through the malt).

The head retention could be better, and it leaves very little lace, but the glowing crimson highlights amidst its almost-black mahogany body are quite nice.

It's quite smooth in the mouth with a light-medium body and very restrained carbonation.

Overall, it's a very nice, surprisingly "rich", and very drinkable beer - just don't expect something full and dextrinous. It really grew on me, and except for the fact that it'd surely build on the palate, I think I'd enjoy more than a few of these on a night at the pub.

Black in hue and it is basically opaque. A lovely brunette head of two fingers topped off the beer. The head retention was great as it took a few moments before it faded to a tight cap. The subsequent lacing was minimal and very spotty. The nose is charming. I really like the Stout aromas of roasted malt, chocolate and coffee notes. The oat sweetness is small and mainly at the back. The potency is solid and I find the bouquet to be inviting. The palate is good; however it lacks something to hang its hat on. The roasted malt is the focal point with its charred taste. There are much less coffee and chocolate flavors, so the nose is a little misleading. Honestly the oat sweetness is so minimal Im not sure if Id label this an Oatmeal Stout in a blind taste-testing. It is flavorful enough and is easily the best tasting beer I have had from this brewery. Medium/medium-full in body, Id like it to be a touch fuller for a stout but it is very workable. The carbonation is moderate but pleasing. Good mouthfeel, better than ordinary. This is a good (oatmeal) stout, easily drinkable and tasty enough to care. If you were interested in a beer from this brewery this would be my recommendation. I purchased a 12-ounce bottle in Iowa City for $1.30. I could drink this again.

Poured this from a 12oz brown bottle into an English pint glass. My label is different than the one pictured here, but from looking on Gray's website, it appears this is the same beer.

Appearance: Pours a thick dark mahogany color, almost black. Very little head. The head that is here falls to just a thin coating of light brown foam.

Smell: Very strong smell of roasted barley, like sticking your head in a fresh bag of the stuff. The barley is so strong that I really don't pick up anything else in the smell.

Taste: Has a lot more of a CO2 bite than I am used to in stouts, almost hides some of the flavor. Once the intial bite fades, there is the taste of roasted barley with just a hint of hops at the end.

Mouthfeel: Pretty high carbonation. Not as much body as you would expect from an oatmeal beer.

Drinkability: The high level of carbonation is a big detractor for me. The CO2 gives a strong bite at the beginning, but there really isn't much flavor behind it. Not bad, but I have had a lot more flavorful examples of Oatmeal Stout.

This isn't a good omen, but I was actually suprised as this is the first beer I have had from Gray's that actually smells like the style its supposed to be. A nice bit of oatmeal, chocolate, and smoked black malts.

This beer is god awful tasting, super sour and vinergery, hopefully a bad bottle, but I know its a fresh sample so this doesn't bode well for this beer.

Pitch black in color, with a decent tan head, great lacing. A large aroma of grains, oatmeal and some licorise. Off the top, this is a bit chewy, some coffee bean and licorise flavoring, which give way nicely to some roasted malts and a little bitterness. Some chocolate flavoring notes with a dry and smoky finish. Although not complex, this is a rather decent oatmeal stout.

Smooth, smoky quality. Poured a dark chocolate with a decent head and retention. Smell was smoky with a hint of coffee. Taste was malty, smoky and smooth....the oatmeal smoothness was very evident. Mouthfeel was a tad light, but had a decent dry quality finish. Smoothness kept drinkability at an above average level. A nice brew!

Dark brown pour, not really black but some blackness in it. White head that dissappeared pretty much immediately. A slim amount of lacing is present however. Some roasted malt, more chocolate in the nose. A little thin and watery throughout. The flavors are mocha, coffee some roast malt, but they are unfortunately subdued by the thinness. Some oatiness, makes for a nice finish. There is potential here if they could just build up the body a bit. The plus is this would be quite sessionable.

Poured from a bottle into a Surly pint glass. Small head, recedes quickly leaving minimal lacing. Slight scent of a stout, but very minor, poor taste, none of the big flavors I would expect. No coffee, no chocolate, just nothing. Thin mouthfeel, very watery. Would not seek out to drink again. Between this and the Porter, I am not impressed with Gray's.

Appearance: Pours an opaque, pitch black with a brown head that quickly fizzes down to nothing.

Smell: Strong aroma of roasted grains, oatmeal, and a bit of coffee. Maybe a touch of licorice too.

Flavor: The first impression I get is one of strong coffee. There's a substantial malt background, which is somewhat balanced by a faint, green hop flavor. Finishes with a strong roasted note. Fairly aggressive flavor...

Mouthfeel: Why can't I find a damn oatmeal stout with the right mouthfeel? These beers should be THICK! Like just about every other one I've tried, it's too thin...

Drinkability: Fairly high...though this comes off as more of a coffee stout than an oatmeal one. Still, it has a nice flavor...